In retail, digital transformation is all about business goals

Customers' experiences are often the central point of digital transformation initiatives. However, many organizations that embrace digital solutions to meet customer demands can find themselves so caught up in trying to adopt exciting new technologies that they lose sight of the business issues they need to solve. For retailers, finding success with digital transformation is often a matter of solving business pain points to improve customer interactions.

The business side of digital transformationReporting on a National Retail Federation event, NRF 2018: Retail's Big Show, a BizTech article explained that business objectives became a key theme in the conversation. In many cases, digital initiatives emphasize technology itself, neglecting business objectives. Retailers need to turn this system on its head by eliminating road blocks between IT and business units and focusing on transforming their business first, then making the technology work from there.

A similar theme came through in a Forbes report, as the news source pointed out that some retailers have thought their product-centric operational models would spare them from the digital takeover happening in other sectors. Instead, consumers embracing digital systems have put pressure on some of retail's critical backend systems, forcing organizations to rethink logistics and supply chain processes in light of shifting industry demands.

Building your retail business for a digital worldSuccessful digital transformation isn't about finding a technological silver bullet. It's a matter of aligning how you work with the tools your employees have so they can better meet customer demands and adapt as the market changes. This isn't exclusively a tech concern. Sure, the right apps and services can help with many issues. However, retailers must reconsider their organizational culture, human resources priorities, warehouse practices, sourcing strategies and customer-facing tactics and create a cohesive operational setup that aligns with the demands of digitally enabled consumers.

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